Police said around 10 p.m. Tuesday, a neighbor called 911 after hearing commotion in 33-year-old Katie Hadel's apartment on Wellhaven Circle in Owings Mills.

"When our officers arrived, they discovered that the door was locked from the inside and they were unable to immediately gain entry. A tactical unit responded to the scene, and they were able to get into the apartment," Baltimore County police spokeswoman Cathy Batton said.

Police said they found Hadel's body stabbed multiple times inside the home. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said two children under the age of 3 were also found inside the apartment -- one child was Hadel's, and the other was a relative's. Both were unharmed.

Police said there were no signs of forced entry into the apartment. On Wednesday morning, officers took Jeffrey Michael Shiflett, 33, of Annapolis, into custody after he was found walking along a street in the Reisterstown area. He was charged with first-degree murder in Hadel's death.

"The victim is married; however, the suspect is not her husband. (The husband) was out-of-state at the time the homicide occurred," Batton said. "We don't believe there's any current romantic relationship between the victim and suspect at this time. However, we do know they are acquaintances from several years ago."

Hadel's friends were devastated by the news and said she was a dedicated wife and mother who will be sorely missed.

"I hope whoever did this -- they need to know how good of a person she was and that she had a small baby, Ava, and now Ava doesn't have a mother, and it's just sad," friend and neighbor Ciara Lang said.

"God, to find out that someone died like that, maybe with her kids in the house, is just horrible," neighbor Jonathan Stubbs said.